Here are the final changes that finish the “H. Hagiwara”-Erba restoration, which began $25.00 ago with just a frame and a fork. But first a side note: as it had been restored this bike is a lovely ride, but I’m putting riding aside until weight is lost. My current weight is a testament to how well built this frame/fork is. I have ridden the Erba several times and to say it floats, LoL, is an understatement, but the risk of breaking these thinnest of frame tubes made in the vintage era (Champion Pro, 0.6-0.3-0.6 mm, double butted), always weighed, pun intended, on my mind. So the new mantra “move more, eat less”, as the Erba watches my efforts hanging on the wall of my man cave/office.
There is no doubt, this was a late 70s early 80s race bike and so the changes to my previous build are my effort to honor the purpose of this bicycle, which brings us to tires. The brake bridge ONLY allows clearance for up to a 23mm tire, whereas the front fork is spacious but I held back and went with a 25mm tire up front and a 23mm in back. I choose the Challenge Criterium SC white sidewall tire in 23/25mm because they both look perfect/gorgeous and even at high pressure (120 psi) will have a plush ride with their 320 TPI thread count.